Bronny James, the Lakers deserve patience as they map out his nascent career

On By Littum

Playing in G League home games only allows Bronny James to get the best of both sides – G League and NBA experience while staying close to the Lakers’ facility.

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Cutting through the fog of nonsense and finding the important takes patience, discipline and focus.

It’s easy to get lost in the fog.

As for Bronny James, double the stakes.

The most important thing is his development as a professional basketball player. Reasonable minds can disagree in reasonable discussion – not everything needs to be a shoutfest – about what it looks like.

But any conversation about James begins with this premise: this is an unprecedented situation. He’s just not your normal No. 55 pick Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA draft.

That the son of one of the greatest basketball players of all time has enough skill to warrant an opportunity to play in the NBA at the same time as his father is incredible. A short but almost unbelievable list of factors must fall into place for that to happen.

With LeBron James and Bronny being the first father-son combo to achieve that, it will likely be a long time before we see this happen again.

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And with all that in mind, remember—and not sure why this important detail doesn’t get the weight it deserves—Bronny went into cardiac arrest in the summer of 2023 right before he started his freshman year at USC.

Again, unique circumstances.

The decibel under scrutiny rose last week when it was reported that Bronny will not play in G League road games for the South Bay Lakers. And the aggregators stared at comments from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who said Bronny is getting special treatment.

To which I say, of course there is special treatment. We don’t have to be naive. Not the first time and not the last, and as long as Bronny does everything he can to make the most of his situation – and by all accounts he is and does so gratefully – then the cries of nepotism will be silenced. Filmmaker Sofia Coppola had an advantage as the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola. She didn’t win an Oscar because of it. In the end, profit rules the day.

Incidentally, Windhorst was measured with his comments on “The Hoop Collective podcast” and his voice matters. The way he said it doesn’t match the anger of the aggregators. But that’s media in 2024.

In any case, it is not unusual for young players who may not get much playing time with the NBA team to only play in G League home games and not travel. Last season, 12 players who were on NBA rosters played only in G League home games. It happens, and it’s not specific to one team.

If you think it’s best for Bronny to spend the season in the G League and get playing time in the NBA’s developmental league, that’s fair.

But the Lakers have a plan they believe is best for Bronny’s development. From 30,000 feet, every NBA team has a philosophy on how to run its G League team, and from there teams create development plans for players who will spend time in the G League. Not all players have the same plan. Teams consider a player’s mental and physical health, long-term and short-term goals.

Lakers G Leaguer Quincy Olivari, who signed a two-way contract, is off to a great start for the South Bay. He is also 23 years old and played five seasons of college basketball. His development path will not be the same.

Bronny’s father is one of the smartest players to ever play basketball. New Lakers coach JJ Redick knows the game extremely well, general manager Rob Pelinka has a history as an agent for some of the game’s best players, including Kobe Bryant, and Rich Paul, who represents LeBron and Bronny, is an influential agent. Add in the institutional knowledge of the Lakers’ organization and basketball operations staff, it’s quite a brain trust charting Bronny’s development.

Playing in G League home games only allows Bronny to get the best of both sides – G League and NBA experience while staying close to the Lakers’ facility, where he has access to world-class resources, including a practice facility , doctors, athletic training staff, coaching and player development coaches.

This was not a plan drawn up without thought, and it is a plan that takes into account several factors.

A month into Bronny’s rookie season, the long arc of progress is barely visible.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @jeffzillgitt